Custom Notepads
Custom notepads from 100 — glued-top tear-off pads, spiral-bound pads with a printed cover and stacked memo blocks, branded on every sheet, in sizes from a 3 in square to full letter.
Three ways to bind a pad, and why each one is used
- Paper
- Uncoated text 60-100 lb (about 90-150 gsm), white or natural; cover in laminated card
- Binding
- Glued top, side glued, wire or coil spiral, memo block
- Sheets
- 25, 50 or 100 per pad; memo blocks up to 500
Order online
Order notepads
Starting from $0.75 per unit
Printed to your artwork or plain, sold in runs of 100 up to 5,000 units per product online. Freight to the US, UK, Canada and Australia is inside the price.
How an online order runs
- Add the units you needThen check out with your delivery address. Add other products to the same order on the way.
- A digital proof comes backLaid on the dieline, before anything prints. Change it as often as you need.
- Pay once you approve itPay by PayPal invoice or bank transfer after you approve your digital proof, or cash on delivery in the US and Canada.
- We make it and ship it deliveredYour delivery date is confirmed with the proof, against the spec and your fill date. Freight and customs are handled on the way to you.
Another size, board or finish, or more than 5,000 units? Send the spec for a price instead. Freight by market and our terms cover delivery and remakes.
Get a price for Notepads
Send the size and quantity — we reply the same working day with a price, a dieline and a date. Artwork optional at this stage.
- Free dielineThe flat drawing comes with the quote, before you commit.
- Proof before pressNothing is printed until you have seen it laid on the dieline.
- Die kept for reordersTooling is paid once. Every reorder skips straight to press.
- Quoted in four marketsUS, UK, Canada and Australia, in the delivery currency.
Glued at the head, spiral bound, or a loose block
| Glued top | Padding glue along the head; sheets tear off clean. Desk pads, order notes, giveaways |
|---|---|
| Spiral | Wire or coil through punched holes; pages flip over and stay. A printed cover protects them |
| Memo block | A glued cube or a loose stack in a holder; sits on a desk for months |
| Side glued | Glued along the long edge, like a book; for a pad that is kept rather than torn |
Notepad sizes from memo square to full letter
- 3 x 3 and 3.5 x 3.5 in squares, for memo blocks and sticky-note sized pads.
- 4 x 6 in, which fits a jacket pocket and a kitchen drawer.
- 5.5 x 8.5 in, the half-letter desk pad.
- 8.5 x 11 in, full letter, for meeting notes and planners.
- Long narrow 3.5 x 8.5 in list pads for shopping and to-do lists.
For the half-letter size on its own, see our page on the 5.5 x 8.5 notepad, which goes into its paper and backer options.
What is printed on every sheet
Each sheet carries the same printed design: a logo at the head, a ruled or dotted grid, a phone number and website at the foot. Keep the print light enough to write over. A solid color block across a whole sheet looks good in a mockup and makes a pad nobody uses. For a pad of pre-printed fields that is filled in and torn off, a form is a better fit, and our range of business forms and pads covers those.
Covers, backs and the spiral
Spiral pads get a printed cover in heavy card, laminated so it survives a bag, and a chipboard back so the pad can be written on standing up. The wire or plastic coil comes in black, white, silver or a color that matches the brand. Glued pads have a chipboard backer and no cover; the top sheet is the cover. The photos show both: a glued pad with a curling top sheet and a spiral pad with a printed orange cover.
Real estate offices, hotels and trade shows
Notepads are one of the few promotional items people keep using. A realtor leaves a pad at every listing appointment, a hotel puts one beside every phone, a contractor hands one over with each estimate. Each pad sits in sight for weeks with the brand at the top of every page. For the letter-headed paper that matches them, see our letterhead printing on matching stock.
Notepads — specification
The rows that are specific to this build first, then what applies to every job we run. Anything not listed is a question, not a limit — send the brief.
This build
- Paper
- Uncoated text 60-100 lb (about 90-150 gsm), white or natural; cover in laminated card
- Binding
- Glued top, side glued, wire or coil spiral, memo block
- Sheets
- 25, 50 or 100 per pad; memo blocks up to 500
- Sizes
- 3 x 3 in to 8.5 x 11 in, and custom
- Back
- Chipboard backer; printed or plain
- Minimum
- 100 pads per design
On every job
- Print process
- Digital below about a thousand, offset above it. Both sides as standard on cards, tags and leaflets.
- Color
- CMYK with spot colors for a brand match. Uncoated and cotton stocks print noticeably lighter than coated ones.
- Tolerance
- Trim plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut. Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding.
- Tooling
- A die only where the piece is shaped, perforated or drilled, made once and kept. A plain rectangle needs none.
- Food contact
- Food-safe inks on menus and counter print that will be handled where food is served.
- Sustainability
- Uncoated and unlaminated stocks recycle without separation, and FSC papers are available across the range.
- Artwork
- Vector PDF or AI, 3 mm bleed, 4 mm safe area, fonts outlined. We check every file and send a proof before press.
- Dieline
- Supplied free with the quote, before you commit. Yours whether or not you order.
- Sample
- A plain unprinted sample at the finished size on request, for fit and construction.
- Reorders
- Skip the tooling and go straight to press at a lower unit price.
- Lead time
- Quoted with the price against your fill date rather than promised before we have seen the spec.
- Markets
- United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia — priced in the delivery currency, freight included.
Boards and films we build notepads on
Sheet print is judged in the hand more than a box is: the weight, the surface and whether a pen works on it. These are the stocks we run for cards, folders, leaflets and stationery.
Coated card 300–400gsm
The workhorse. Sharp full-color print, matte or gloss, laminated where it is handled. Does not take a pen unless the finish is matte.
300–400gsmUncoated card
No clay coat. Colors read softer and warmer, a deboss goes deeper, and it writes on with anything. Photographs lose punch.
300–400gsmCotton and textured card
Soft, thick and fibrous. Takes a deep blind deboss and reads as an invitation. Foil sits beautifully; four-color does not.
400–700gsmDuplexed card
Two sheets bonded, often with a colored core, for a very thick card with a visible colored edge. The heaviest thing we print.
600–900gsmText paper 100–170gsm
Leaflets, folder inners and booklet pages. Folds without cracking and takes a full-color print on both faces.
100–170gsmManila and kraft paper
Unbleached, tan, and cheap. One or two colors read well; white ink gives a light mark. Envelopes, folders and tags.
90–300gsmSynthetic stock
Polypropylene sheet for tags and cards that get wet, torn or handled outdoors. Prints like paper and does not soften.
200–400 micronBoard-backed
A printed face laminated to grayboard, for a rigid card, a folder back or a display that has to stand up on its own.
1–2 mm boardNot sure which? Say what goes in it and where it is sold — the material follows from that. Our notes on recycled, recyclable and compostable cover which claims each stock can honestly carry.
- 01
Send what you have
A dimension, a photograph beside a ruler, or the product itself. No technical drawing needed — that part is ours.
- 02
We quote and draw
A price, a dieline and a date come back together. If a different build would suit the product better, that is in the reply too.
- 03
Approve the dieline
The flat drawing is yours to check: which panel is the front, where the folds fall, how deep the cavity really is.
- 04
Artwork on the dieline
You place your design on the flat we sent, or we place it for you, and you see a proof before anything goes to press.
- 05
A sample if you want one
A plain unprinted sample at the finished size shows fit and construction — the things a drawing cannot.
- 06
Cut, printed, shipped
The die is cut once and kept, so every reorder skips the tooling and goes straight to press at a lower unit price.
Format
Vector PDF or AI where possible. Raster artwork at 300dpi at final size, in CMYK.
Bleed
3 mm past every trim line, so a fraction of drift on the cutter never leaves a white edge.
Safe area
Keep type and anything important 4 mm inside the cut and away from every fold.
Color
Convert to CMYK before sending. Uncoated stock prints lighter; a spot color is the only exact match.
Fonts
Outline them or supply the files. A missing font substitutes silently and the proof will not match.
Barcodes
On a light, matte, unvarnished patch with the quiet zone clear — a code on gloss fails the scanner.
Not set up that way? Send it anyway — fixing a file is a short conversation, and we check every one before press. Our guide to preparing print files covers each point.
Sheet print takes the widest range of finishes of anything we make.
Matte lamination
Soft, fingerprint-resistant, and it still takes a pen. The default on anything handled.
Gloss lamination
Maximum color depth. Shows every fingerprint and refuses a ballpoint.
Hot foil
Gold, rose gold, silver, holographic or a color. The block is small so the die is cheap.
Emboss and deboss
Deepest on uncoated and cotton stocks; shallow and prone to cracking on gloss coated.
Spot UV
A gloss shape on a matte laminate. Best on a dark ground where the contrast reads.
Edge paint and colored core
Color on the cut edge of a thick or duplexed card. Only seen when the card is picked up, which is the point.
Soft-touch
A velvet laminate on a cover or a folder. Marks on white; excellent on dark.
Uncoated and textured
No film at all. Writes on, debosses deeply, and reads as considered rather than cheap.
Not sure which suits the shelf it sells from? Say where the product is sold and we suggest one — our notes on specialty finishes show them on real boxes.
Sizing printed sheets, folds and the grain: notepads
A printed piece is specified flat and finished folded, and the difference between the two is where mistakes live. Send the finished size you want and we work back to the flat.
- Finished size
- The size after folding and trimming. A6, A5, A4, DL, US letter and legal are standard; anything else is cut on its own die.
- Bleed and safe area
- 3 mm of artwork past every trim edge, and nothing important within 4 mm inside it. The guillotine drifts by a fraction on every stack.
- Grain direction
- Paper folds cleanly along the grain and cracks across it. We set the grain to the fold, which is why a sheet is not simply cut from the biggest sheet available.
- Fold allowance
- On a roll fold or a gate fold, the inner panels are cut a millimeter or two shorter so the piece closes flat.
- Creasing
- Anything over about 170gsm is creased before folding. Without it the fold cracks and the coating flakes along the line.
- Trim tolerance
- Plus or minus 1 mm guillotined, plus or minus 0.5 mm die-cut.
Not sure your numbers are right? Send the product dimensions rather than the box dimensions and we work the box out — the full method is in our guide to measuring for a box.
Interactive · five steps · no sign-up
Spec your Notepads
Pick a shape, type a size, choose a stock and a finish. The preview on the left redraws as you go, and the spec lands with us exactly as you set it.
Frequently asked questions
Got a question about notepads? The answers below cover what we get asked most. If yours is not here, send it with a brief, message us on WhatsApp, or call +1 503-461-4788 — we reply the same working day.
What is the difference between a glued and a spiral notepad?
Glued notepads tear off clean, sheet by sheet. Spiral notepads keep every page, flipping over on a wire or coil with a cover on top.
What sizes do custom notepads come in?
From 3 x 3 in memo squares through 4 x 6, 5.5 x 8.5 and 8.5 x 11 in, plus long list pads and custom sizes.
How many sheets are in a notepad?
Usually 25, 50 or 100. Memo blocks can be stacked up to about 500 sheets.
Can every page of a notepad be printed?
Yes. Every sheet carries the same printed design, such as a logo, ruled lines and contact details.
Can a spiral notepad have a printed cover?
Yes. A heavy card cover, printed and laminated, with a chipboard back so the pad can be written on standing.
What paper is best for a notepad?
Uncoated text paper, which takes ballpoint, pencil and fountain pen without smudging. Coated paper smears.
Can the notepad wire be a custom color?
Yes. Coils come in black, white, silver and a range of colors chosen to match the brand.
Are notepads a good giveaway for a real estate agent?
Yes. A pad left at an appointment sits on a counter for weeks with the agent name on every page.
Can I order notepads with different designs in one order?
Yes, with 100 pads per design. Sizes and bindings can also differ within the order.
Do notepads come with a backing board?
Glued and spiral pads come with a chipboard back, printed or plain, so they stay flat and can be written on in hand.
What is a memo block notepad?
A cube or stack of glued square sheets that sits on a desk, often printed on the sides as well as the sheets.
Same range
